Click the painting for information about the artist. The Gospels give us an inside look into the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. In showing us these things, they reveal what it means to follow Christ in the development of our characters. Jesus asked the Nephites living in the Americas after His resurrection, “What manner of men [and women] ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.” Elsewhere, Jesus commands us to be perfect (see Matt. 5:48; 3 Ne. 12:48). The word for perfect in the original Greek means to be whole or complete. Thus, we become perfect by fulfilling our purpose in the journey of life, relying on Jesus, Who is Mighty, to save.
Of course, we cannot follow Jesus or walk in His footsteps to the point of doing what He did. No one can, not even in the slightest measure. We try, however, to emulate Him in thought and with our words and deeds. Jesus never spoke an unkind word or did an unkind thing. He was never too busy or hungry or in need of rest not to feel compassion for the people who approached Him, always in need of something that would bring them the rest they sought.
Jesus never lost patience with people, including the poor and downtrodden, who came to Him with so much less. He spent His days ministering to the lost sheep of Israel, sharing His love, talents, and power with all who approached Him, especially when they came with a desire to follow Him. Submitting His will to the Father always came first, and it was the Father’s will that Jesus bless the lives of His other children, whom He also loved (see 3 Ne. 11:11).
Jesus raised a widow’s son from death to life in the biblical city of Nain (Luke 7:11–15), which overlooked the Jezreel Valley (see second photo below). Mt. Precipice and Nazareth are also within view of Nain. The modern town, like the ancient one, is located at the foot of the hill of Moreh (see first photo below), six miles south of Mt. Tabor. In the center of town, a small church commemorates the miracle of Nain (read about Nain in Blessed Pilgrimage, vol. 2).
The Blessed Pilgrimage books are about following Jesus of Nazareth physically through the land He loved and spiritually through the example of His life. For more on this subject, see “The Paths Jesus Walked” (chapter one of Blessed Pilgrimage: The Way of Christ Lord). You can read it here for free.
View southeast: The modern town of Nain, nestled against the Hill of Moreh (top).
Below (view north): This photo was taken from the hill above Nain (lower right), looking across the Jezreel Valley toward Mt. Precipice (upper left) and Jesus’s boyhood town of Nazareth (upper center).
Kristen Yee, Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (2022–2025), did this painting of Christ. The painting comes with a story, which Sister Yee told in the Saturday Evening Session of the Church’s October 2024 general conference. The title of her talk is “The Joy of Our Redemption.” The title of her painting is “And I Partook.”
